Classical chess

Classical chess is the long-time-control form of the game. It gives much more thinking time than rapid or blitz and is the format associated with standard over-the-board games and FIDE's main rating list.

There is no single clock setting called classical. An event may use one time period or several periods and may add an increment after each move. For FIDE standard rating, the current regulations calculate available time over 60 moves and require these minimums for each player:

• 120 minutes if at least one player is rated 2400 or higher.
• 90 minutes if at least one player is rated 1800 or higher and neither reaches 2400.
• 60 minutes if both players are rated below 1800.

Those figures are eligibility requirements for FIDE standard rating, not a universal definition of every classical game. A control such as 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move is one specific time control; classical describes the broader family of long-form games.